The present invention is documented with numerous examples of tree blind and collapsible shelter designs. The objective of such articles and assemblies is typically in providing some degree of either environmental shielding/insulation to the occupant, as well as further providing either or both of camouflage for shielding the occupant's presence, as well as providing for easy manipulation of weaponry (e.g. long barreled firearms and bows) carried by the occupant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,019, issued to Peruski, teaches a version of a collapsible portable shelter including a plurality of cover supporting frame bars pivotally mounted at one end of a central hub, this further including vertically spaced apart plates. The frame bars include inverted L shaped support bars, each with a generally vertical and ground supporting leg and in integral and generally horizontal base received between the upper plates. This enables a terminal end of the horizontal base to be pivotally mounted in an aperture provided in one of the plates and, in combination with a recess arrangement defined in the other plates and the incorporation of a spring mechanism urging the plates together, facilitates holding the horizontal members within their defined recesses, but allowing the members to be rotated between stowed (side-by-side) and angularly disposed (spread apart) positions consistent with the pattern of the recesses.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,245, issued to Tseytlin, discloses a collapsible sun shade with hinged arms. The arms support a flexible sheet with a hub generally positioned at its center, and further such that the distal ends of the arms are connected to the sheet to support the same when the arms are spread apart.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,630, issued to Ransom, teaches a pre-assembled and collapsible tree stand hunting blind which folds into a compact package, and utilizing coil-able steel frame members which may be collapsed. The enclosure is adapted to be attached to the trunk of a tree and to an associated platform, such as a hunters tree stand. The enclosure is further provided with camouflage elements to render the user relatively invisible to game in the surrounding environment. Reference is also made to the collapsible structure with top supporting elements in Ransom U.S. Pat. No. 7,137,399.
Additional references of note include each of the versatile hunting or animal watching blind in Hanson 2006/0249640, the hunting blind and method of use in Maddox U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,091 and the hunting stand and blind in Hodnett U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,922.